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Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Syabas Halimah Yacob for becoming Singapore President

Halimah Yacob is Singapore’s first woman president

Halimah Yacob, seen here shaking hands with the Cambodian National Assembly president Heng Samrin (2-R) during a visit to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in May, is Singapore's first woman president and its first Malay president in 47 years. – EPA pic, September 11, 2017.

FORMER Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob will be Singapore’s first Malay president in more than 47 years after the Elections Department (ELD) announced that she was the only eligible candidate who won the inaugural reserved Presidential Election uncontested.In a statement from the Elections Department today, the spokesman said the other two applicants, marine services provider Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific chairman Farid Khan, 62, and Second Chance Properties Mohamed chief executive Salleh Marican, 67, were rejected.Halimah, 62, will be Singapore’s eighth President and the first woman to hold the position as the country’s Head of State.

The Returning Officer, Energy Market Authority chief executive Ng Wai Choong, will declare her the elected President on Nomination Day on Wednesday.

Former president Tony Tan’s six-year term expired on August 31 and Council of Presidential Advisers chairman JY Pillay has been the Acting President since September 1, and will remain so until Halimah assumes office.

There will not be a poll and Halimah will start her term as President on Thursday.

This year’s Presidential Election has been reserved for the Malay community, following changes to the Elected Presidency scheme passed by Parliament last November. The changes allow for the election to be reserved for a particular ethnicity, which has not had an elected representative for five consecutive terms.

President Yusof Ishak was Singapore’s first President and the only Malay to have held the office till he died in 1970.

But I can't help thinking this is an exercise in tokenism, for marketing purposes. Singapore remains a state with a significant Malay population , which largely excludes Malays from both the responsibilities and rewards of public life.

Malay Singaporeans serve in the Singapore Armed Forces, like any other citizen, as required by law. However they are still distrusted. The last time the question was answered in Parliament, back in 2013, it was revealed.- there are NO Malay pilots with Singapores's advanced front-line combat aircraft F-15s, F-16s and Apache Longbows.- the highest ranking Malay military officer in the RS Armed Forces is a general in Logistics. None in front-line combat units.- there are no Malay commanders with their Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank units.

By all means, competence and capability should be the primary basis for selection, but when the number is Zero, it raises suspicions that racial factors weigh heavily.

Singapore's compulsory national service and the Singapore Armed Forces were not created to defend Singapore against attack by big powers such as the former Soviet Union or China during the cold war period but out of fear of neigbours such as Indonesia and Malaysia, hence the exclusion of Singapore Malays from key SAF positions you mentioned.

After all, Singapore was a part of the Johor Sultanate until a disgruntled Johor prince who felt that he was passed over agreed to be made a kind of "Sultan of Singapore" by Stamford Raffles of the East India Company in return for signing away rights for the East India Company, hence Britain to exploit the resources and location of Singapore.

So in that regard, Johor could one day lay claim to Singapore, if it so wishes.

The Singapore president is a non-executive, figurehead position, which rotates between Singapore persons of different ethnicities, unlike the United States president, who is the chief executive.

At least they still "pretend" because they were "shy" unlike when even their own (a liberal and colour-blind whose action I saluted) 'appointed' a non for the CEO position (even though it would be only a short time as she was about to retire soon, too), the whole kampung came out to protest and threatened violently to disturb the peace so much so the 'appointment' had to be reversed!

By the way in Singapore 74:13:9:others compare to Malaysia 50:23:7:others. If 13 is significant what more is 23! What bigotry!

About Me

Just a bloke interested in the socio-political whatnots around the world, particularly those in Malaysia. Loves a laugh or/and story or two, or more, but loves civility and courtesy much more, especially in politics